France are arguably the strongest women’s national side never to win a senior title.
Not only have they not claimed a World Cup or Olympic Gold medal, a European title has also proved elusive so far.
In fact, Les Bleues have never even reached a major final. But could that change in Switzerland in this summer? And if the French do go all the way – Kadidatou Diani may be the forward to fire them to glory.
Kadidiatou Diani: Her career so far
Diani was a Parisian prodigy from a young age. Playing for her country at various youth levels, she helped France become World Champions at under-17 level back in 2012.
At club level she quickly established herself as a breakout forward for Paris FC. With 17 league goals across 38 games in two seasons, Diani was called-up for the senior side for Euro 2017 in Netherlands.
However, she would fail to score as England knocked out Les Bleues in the quarter-final stage. As a wide forward she would return at the 2019 World Cup finals, helping the French to another run to the last eight.
By this point, the forward was highly rated as one of the best goalscorers in the country and was signed by Paris Saint-Germain as they tried to challenge Lyon for national supremacy.
Over a six-year spell, Diani would hit 92 goals for PSG, becoming the club’s third highest goalscorer of all-time.
But for all her exploits she was unable to help her club side take the next step in Europe. The summer before Diani’s arrival in 2017, they had come within a few penalties of winning the Champions League, losing French rivals Lyon in a penalty shootout.
A 1-0 defeat to the same side in the 2019/20 Champions League semi-final would prove particularly painful. However, she did help PSG claim the domestic title in 2021, only her second major title with the club.
Two seasons later she achieved the remarkable feat of scoring 17 league goals in just 17 games.
Learning on loan
Surprisingly, despite being a Paris native, Diani would cross the divide between the two major French rivals, by joining Lyon in 2023, on a four-year deal.
Although the goals would follow and two more domestic titles – she has still yet to get her hands on a Champions League title.
Lyon lost the 2024 final to Barcelona and were knocked out in the last four by Arsenal the following year.
Powerful, pacey and with an ability to dribble past defenders easily, Diani – on her day – can be unplayable.
